Geneva: the coach tears his shirt and threatens the referee: condemned

Criminal convictions punishing violent behavior on and around Geneva Football fields continue to fall. This time, the man caught by the patrol had chosen his victim particularly poorly: the referee he threatened and insulted in September was none other than Me Nicolas Hervieu-Causse, a lawyer by profession – and not just any : the one who, for years, has encouraged men in black attacked by players, coaches or spectators to take legal action and offers to defend them free of charge.

The events took place on September 22, during a 2nd league match between FC Onex and FC Perly-Certoux. “The match was particularly calm,” remembers the referee. Perly led 3-1, there were two minutes left to play, the matter seemed to be over. And everything went wrong. An intervention by a Perly defender was deemed lawful, arousing the ire of the Onex assistant coach, yelling at the referee several times that he was “a sick person”. On the counter-attack, while the supervisor was shouting, a strong tackle by an Onex player was punished with a yellow card.

“Give me a red before I die!”, the coach explodes. Unsurprisingly, the referee ejects him and stops the match immediately. Alas, the man has not calmed down. The match having been filmed, we see on the video a cheap Hulk tearing off his shirt and rushing, shirtless, at the game director (players prevent him from reaching him). He agonizes him with insults: “Bastard”, “son of a bitch”, “dog”, “motherfucker”, “whore”…

On December 20, the Public Prosecutor’s Office found him guilty of insults and threats. He judged that the facts were established, “in particular with regard to the extracts from the video of the match and the confessions” of the defendant, who declared “very much to regret his bloodshed” – while ensuring that he did not remember the exact words that he had held. He was sentenced to a 45-day fine of 80 francs per day, suspended, as well as procedural costs, i.e. 520 francs.

The now ex-coach was fired the same day by FC Onex; and the Geneva Cantonal Football Association suspended him for a year.